Nottingham Eye Hospital
An Eye Dispensary was first established in Nottingham on Park Row in 1859. In 1866 it moved to 56 St. James' Street and its title changed to The Nottingham and Midland Eye Infirmary.
As the volume of work increased, these premises became inadequate and, in 1912, a purpose-built Eye Hospital was opened on the Ropewalk. In 1959, the Infirmary's title again changed to The Nottingham Eye Hospital.
For a time, from 1978, eye casualty services were divided between the Ropewalk and the new University Hospital, but all eye services were eventually transferred to the latter in 1983. The Ropewalk building became the headquarters of the Nottinghamshire Family Practitioner Committee.
Nottingham and Midland Eye Infirmary, 1912 [Uhe Ph 1/3]
Records
Official records of the Hospital
The University first acquired records from the Eye Hospital in 1975. Further accruals were received at various times up to 1992.
The catalogue of the Nottingham Eye Hospital collection (Uhe) is available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue.
The papers from the Eye Hospital include minutes of the House and General Committee (1860-1969) and of the Joint Committee of the Midland Eye Infirmary and Nottingham General Hospital Group (1951-1969). Other administrative papers include annual accounts (1924-1947), correspondence and legal papers (1921-1947), and annual reports (1867 and 1911-1946). Visitors' books are present (1912-1968), as are a series of photographs (1912-1948) and a volume of newspaper cuttings (1937-1949).
Few patient records have survived, but the collection includes casualty record books (1949-1975) and a register listing surgeons and the special payments received (c.1948-1950). Since access to patient and clinical records is restricted due to the confidential information they contain, the majority of these last records cannot normally be presented to users without special permission.
Outpatients Consulting Room at the Nottingham and Midland Eye Infirmary, 1912 [Uhe Ph 1/13]
Administrative records, post-1948
Records of Nottingham No. 1 Hospital Management Committee (1948-1970), Nottingham University Hospital Management Committee (1970-1974), and Nottinghamshire Area Health Authority (Teaching), South Nottingham District (1974-1982). (Uh)
In 1948, The Nottingham and Midland Eye Infirmary was placed under the governance of the Sheffield Regional Health Board and the Nottingham No. 1 Hospital Management Committee. The Committee became the Nottingham University Hospital Management Committee in 1970, and in 1974 the Nottinghamshire Area Health Authority (Teaching), South Nottingham District. The Nottingham Health Authority was formed in 1982. Minutes and other administrative records of the Nottinghamshire Area Health Authority (Teaching), South Nottingham District and its predecessors, 1948-1982, record decisions which affected Nottingham Eye Hospital. A full catalogue of these records (Uh) is available through the Manuscripts Online Catalogue.
Fundraising records
Records of the Nottingham and District Health Fund; 1899-1948 (Nh)
Nottingham Eye Hospital was one of the local hospitals which benefited from the collections of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Hospital Saturday Fund, formed in 1873. In 1938 the Fund changed its name to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Hospital Saturday Contributory Fund. Contributors received free medical care from the hospitals involved. In 1948 the terms of reference of the Fund changed, and the name altered to the Nottingham and District Health Fund. Minutes and financial records of the Fund, 1899-1948, provide details about the Fund and its contributors. A full catalogue of these records (Nh) is available through the Manuscripts Online Catalogue.
Bibliography
- Galloway, N.R. (c.2003). The Nottingham Eye Hospital. Nottingham: N.R. Galloway [King's Meadow Campus East Midlands Collection Not 3.L27 EYE]
- Furdson, P.A., and Cuthbert, I.D. [for the] Nottingham No.1 Hospital Management Committee] (1962). Study of out-patients appointments system at the Nottingham Eye Hospital. Sheffield: Sheffield Regional Hospital Board Report no. WS/N/12
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